Cloaked in Mist
by YashaIgnisVolk
Summary: The history of the Hidden Mist is bloody and shrouded in myth, speculation and hearsay. So let's mess a few things up as a teenage Zabuza, a Mizukage Haku and a loyal Kisame, among others, get wrapped up in the affairs of the Leaf and a certain blonde knucklehead. Rating may be subject to change.
1. Prologue

"Target indentified. He's engaged with some Konoha nin. Two jonin and two genin."

"Only engaged? Good, I don't feel like making another poor women a widow today."

"Kisame..."

"Yes, Zabuza-kun?" The blue-skinned teen said with a smile, looking far too pleased with himself.

"Time and place." The teen with a bandaged face said as he dropped to the ground, Kisame following behind him as they went north.

"What? We are going to see sempai, might as well make the reunion fun."

Zabuza simply grunted. "Just stick to the plan."

"Chibi demon." Kisame teased.

"Guppy fish."

* * *

Juzo Biwa. A man that certainly lived up to his reputation of strength and brutality in Kakashi's opinion. The ex-Kiri nin was fighting with Kubikiribocho as if it was a standard issue kunai, instead of the six foot long monstrosity of steel it was. He barely had time to block the first strike while he shouted orders at Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura that under no circumstances were they to join the fray as things devolved into a brutal slug-fest between sword and hastily drawn kunai.

But those complaints would have to be dealt with later as Kakashi parried another strike, feeling the muscles in his arm ache from the constant abuse. His ribs weren't doing much better. If he'd had a warning earlier, he might have been prepared for an ambush from someone of Juzo's caliber, but when that warning is a near face full of steel, one has to improvise. Ninja's are not omnipotent after all, and are just as susceptible to a good surprise attack as anyone else.

Kakashi thanked whatever god there was that they'd ran into the Demon Brother's earlier, or the situation could have devolved further.

He had to think of a way to end things fast. There was no way Juzo would be satisfied with just the bridge builder's blood, the Swordsman would probably kill his genin as a matter of course. Or a bit of petty vengeance for Kakashi drawing things out. The white-haired jonin didn't really want to give Juzo the opportunity to try if at all possible though.

Kakashi took the offensive, matching Juzo strike for strike as the man laughed at the jonin's attempt to take an opening.

Thankfully, an opening presented itself, just not in the form either combatant expected.

"Suiton: Shark Bullet Jutsu!"

Reflexes honed through years of experience were the only thing that saved both combatants. Kakashi leapt back, using the reprieve in combat to uncover his sharingan, while Juzo simply tanked the blow with his sword, a small smirk on the missing-nins face as he recognized both the voice and the technique.

"Kisame! You little guppy shit! I don't see you for five years and you lose the balls to come out and face me like a man?! Fuguki's would be rolling in his grave if he could see ya now!." Juzo shouted into the forest, his assignment momentarily forgotten at a the prospect of short chat with an ex-comrade. Or more importantly, killing the brat.

"Funnily enough, I don't think there will be enough left of Fuguki-sensei to warrant a grave when we bury him. But, I suppose optimism is a necessary trait in a missing-nim. Keeps them going for however long it takes for us to show up."

Kakashi took a moment to look over the new arrival as he appeared in the clearing. Hunter-nin, plain and simple. A touch of light blue skin showing behind a white oval mask, with three red lines painted over each cheek and probably no older than fifteen. A loose black t-shirt, dark forest green cargo pants, the patented misty grey, pin-stripped arm warmers and open-toed sandals. Nothing aside from 'Kisame's' skin color struck Kakashi as odd, but there were two things of note. The casual mention of Fuguki Suikazan, the leader of the strongest generation of the Seven, and the familarity of which Juzo and the boy spoke to each other

Just what he needed, Kakashi thought. Not one Swordsman, but one Swordsman and a trainee. Hopefully they'll tire each other out in the event the Hunter-nin deemed his team a loose end.

"But, while I hate to be rude. I'm not here to chat. You got something that belongs to the village, and I'm here to take it back. So, what do you say sempai? Want to make this easy and come along quietly, or we going to do this the hard way?" Kisame did nothing to hide the blood-lust in his tone, showing which option he would prefer the older shinobi to take.

Jozu just snorted as he hefted his sword onto his shoulder, waving a hand dismissively. "One ninja, two ninja, green ninja, blue ninja. I wish I gave a shit Kisame. Gato might decide to pay me by the body. So go ahead and try me, I'll take you and the leaf fucker over there at the same time. Hell, I wish you brought more for the bloodbath! You seem to forget who the fuck you are talking to!" The Missing-nin flared his chakra, watching as Kakashi settled into a stance, and enjoying how the genin seemed to flinch at the increase in killing intent. The defector could almost taste the killing-intent it was so thick.

"I am Juzo of the Red River Rapids!" The man continued, taking a threatening step forward. "And I-!"

"Talk too fucking much..." Zabuza said as he he appeared behind Juzo, plunging his tanto into the back of the man's neck, severing the spine before jerking the blade out the side of the man's neck. It was brutal, it was quick and it was efficient.

Zabuza didn't even wait for the corpse to drop to the ground before he was cleaning the blood off his blade. "And here I thought Kisame was the only one who could run his mouth..."

Kisame just laughed. "Kinda a packaged deal Zabuza-kun. A big sword generally comes with an even bigger mouth. I'm sure you'll grow into it."

"Mmm." Zabuza just snorted as he bent down to retrieve Juzo's head. Kisame would take care of the body, but the initial search was his responsibility. Kisame on the the other hand just stood guard in case the Konoha nin wanted to take the corpse or any other spoils. It'd be a shame to lose the goodies to some Leaf punks.

"Well, in that case. Thank you for your assistance. Jozu-sempai has been a pain in Kiri's side for years. I apologize for not interfering earlier, but one of us wished to ensure that Juzo's attention was focused on you and I." Kisame gave a short bow, scanning the crowd as he continued, acting as they hadn't just executed a man less than thirty seconds ago. He'd ask Zabuza his burning question later.

Kakashi for his part just nodded. "Kiri hunter-nin.." He blew out a lazily impressed breath, getting past his innitial surprise at the execusion with ease. "Thank you for your assistance regardless." He made sure to keep an eye on the boy that was searching Jozu's corpse. Kakashi was by no means an excellent sensor, but he still had some skill in the area, which made trying to decide who the bigger threat was, a pain. While the blue kid seemed to have enough chakra to match Naruto, his companion wasn't too far behind. The sinister aura to the boy's chakra did nothing more than further confuse the manner.

Kisame just shrugged. "Oh, we do our part. A random act of kindness a day really helps the karma-"

"What the hell was that?! Who are you two?! Kakashi-sensei was kicking that guy's butt, then you two showed up!" Naruto shouted once he had recovered from the rather brutal death that taken place in front of him, further incensed by the casual conversation going on in front of him.

Still, he was taking it better than Tazuna, who'd wandered over to a nearby tree to promptly loose his lunch, while Sakura was looking rather green around the gills. Sasuke had managed to keep up a facade of stoicism, even though he wanted to join Tazuna by the road side. Old memories back at the front of his mind.

"Naruto, calm down. He's not an enemy." Kakashi did his best to reassure his hyperactive student as Zabuza finished his work, walking up to hand Kisame two scrolls he'd pilfered from Jugo's body. The jonin didn't miss the fact that the Executioner's Blade was now strapped onto the boy's back. Kakashi just looked on at the unpainted oval mask, half-listening to Naruto as he studied the second hunter-nin. The Kiri emblem was the only decoration on his mask, and he wore a loose, black jumpsuit with pinstripe gloves and open-toed sandals. Simple and effective, just like the assassination.

"That's not what I'm asking! Jugo was.. Jugo was strong. Even I can tell that! And a guy that strong was killed by a kid not much different than me! We look useless! How can I understand that?! We didn't even do get to help, at all!" Apparently Naruto had noticed the age difference or lack there of between Kisame, Zabuza and himself. In Kakashi's opinion, they couldn't be more than three years apart at most, if that.

The jonin just shrugged as he cast a side glance at Sasuke, making sure he was paying attention to the conversation. "That's the truth of the world. At times there are kids younger than you, but stronger than me."

Zabuza just snorted. He and Kisame were both fully aware of the Konoha-nin's reputation. It'd be a brutal fight, but Zabuza was willing to bet a weeks pay the Copy Cat would come out on top against Juzo. "High praise indeed." Kisame flashed through the hand seals needed before applying the jutsu to destroy Juzo's body.

Kakashi just nodded, ignoring Naruto's protests as he put his headband back in place. They stood in silence, the genin taking care to avoid watching Juzo's corpse break down in front of them. The jonin making a note to run them through some Chakra exercises in the event Gato hired more muscle. The kids would need to be ready.

"Well, if there is nothing else. We will take our leave. Good luck out there kids." Kisame gave Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura a reassuring smile as he walked up to Zabuza. The younger teen just rolled his eyes before he disappeared in a swirl of mist, with Kisame following shortly behind.

Only Zabuza heard the blonde kids protest at being called a kid. Well, aside from his teammates, they heard it loud and clear.

* * *

"I'm thinking sashimi tonight."

"Loose ends first, then we'll eat." Zabuza said, as he jumped from branch to branch.

"Don't see why. We can always take care of Gato tomorrow. High-ranking Missing-nin aren't something you can just pick up on a dime at the local corner store." Kisame argued back.

"Juzo might have had to report to Gato. The more time we waste, the more likely it is that Gato goes to ground. And I don't feel like having to track down a slug like Gato."

"You know, you could just say you miss M-."

"Shut your mouth and get moving."

"Yes sir, of course sir. Whatever you say sir." Kisame's smug tone overshadowing his actual words.

Zabuza couldn't help but feel like he lost some sort of battle. He made it up to himself by ignoring Kisame for the next hour. Seemed fitting enough.

An: So, new story cause reasons. As usual, Zabuza centric but teen aged! This was semi-inspired by Orphans of Time by olehoncho which I recommend you check out, even if it is discontinued, just cause it's great for what it is.

Anyways, pairings and such are more or less decided but we'll see what happens. Next chapter will give a clearer view of what some of our favourite kiri nin are up to in this au and more of the twists

Regardless~ I hope you all enjoyed the starter and hope you have a good day :)


	2. Chapter 2

"So, a demon and a shark walk into a bar-"

"Why do I care if you and I go to a bar?" Zabuza asked, not in the mood for Kisame trying to improve his sunny disposition with a joke.

"No, a demon _and_ a shark, not a demon shark." Kisame spoke up between bites of sashimi. It was rather lack lustre, but the teen didn't expect much from a hole in the wall restaurant in the middle of nowhere in a backwater place such as the Land of Waves. The fact he had to think of as many qualifiers as he had was more than enough to explain away the taste.

"Anyways, a demon _and_ a shark walk into a bar-" It always surprised Zabuza how casual Kisame could keep his tone when he was annoyed or irritated. Which is why Zabuza enjoyed see how far he could push his colleague.

"Demons don't drink." Zabuza interrupted again, deliberately taking his time to lift his cup of sake to his lips. The teens stared each other down as Zabuza slowly drained his saucer.

"I hate you..." Kisame went back to poking his mediocre sashimi, pointedly ignoring the satisfied grin on Zabuza's face. They had two days of travel ahead of them. Vengeance would be had.

"Mmm. Shut up and eat." said Zabuza, the cabbage rolls and barbequed pork seemingly improving in taste. Maybe Haku was right. Good company could make any meal better.

* * *

"Kisame Hoshigaki. Here to report Mizukage-sama." Two days. Two days with nothing but the open sky and each other for company. It was a miracle that both of them had made it home in alive, much less in one piece.

And if anyone asked, the colorful assortment of bruises and cuts were courtesy of Juzo. That was the agreed upon story, and both parties were willing to stick with it.

"Zabuza Momochi. Here to report as ordered, Mizukage-sama." Both knelt in front of the Mizukage's desk awaiting orders, more out of an attempt to appear professional, rather than professionalism itself. They'd been greeted that the village outskirts with orders to check-in the moment they arrived.

"Good afternoon boys." Haku shuffled around the short stack of paper he still had left to complete before looking up to smile at the boys. As usual his desk was a perfect example of organized chaos. Mission debriefings mixed with economic reports and various other statistics in a system that made perfect sense to Haku, and Haku alone. "My, have a bit of trouble on your assignment?"

"Biwa had a few tricks left up his sleeve. But we pulled through." Kisame kept his eyes to the floor.

"Oh? Do tell. It has been so long since I've seen Juzo fight anyone other than civilians, I hope he'd matured a bit in his exile. But knowing him, I find it unlikely. Would you like anything to drink while we talk?" Haku motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk.

"No ma'am." The boys chorused in unison as they took their seats, Kisame taking a moment to lean Samehada against the back of his chair as Zabuza watched Haku, seeing if their casual lie had been discovered.

Zabuza had known Haku for more than half of his life, which at fifteen years of age wasn't much, and he could say with certainty that the black-haired beauty hadn't changed in the slightest. Soft brown eyes, pale skin and a smile that could melt the coldest hearts was among the greatest weapons in Haku's arsenal that Zabuza could name.

Delicate was the word Zabuza would use to describe his adoptive father. Small frame, short stature and an air about him usually reserved for porcelain and glass statues. It'd taken only a few short training sessions to realize that delicate by no means meant weak, since the title of Mizukage wasn't a big enough clue for his bone-headed seven year old self.

No, the kind and gentle looking man in the pink, floral kimono with manicured nails and immaculate hair done up in a bun was by fair the strongest shinobi in the village.

"No need to be shy boys. Itsuki brought this new blend of tea from Moon country and I was hoping for your opinion on it. Are you sure I can't tempt you?" Haku grabbed a fresh sheet of paper, and a pencil to take notes as he saw fit.

"I'll pass auntie." Kisame teased as he settled into the cushioned chair.

"Zabuza?" Haku asked with a small smile.

Zabuza simply shook his head as Haku gave a small chuckle in response.

"I'll be serving it with dinner tommorow, so you are only delaying the inevitable. Now, why don't we start from the top?"

"We got word that Juzo had been seen in Fire country a week ago. Kisame and I were dispatched with two objectives. Primarily, retrieval of Kubikiribocho, with the disposal of the Missing-Nim Juzo Biwa as a secondary objective." Zabuza drew a scroll from one of his pants pockets, and put it on Haku's desk. "Both objectives have been accomplished."

"Excellent. And disposal wasn't an issue?" Haku picked up the scroll, and unfurled it to look at the array of symbols. Everything was in order, another one of the swords was back in the hands of the village. With that confirmation, he rolled up the scroll and handed it back to Zabuza.

"We stopped at a bounty station on one of the outer islands to hand in his head. Lost a good chunk of ryo since it was just the head, but a respectable amount none the less. We've already split the reward."

Haku nodded as he jotted a few quick notes down at Kisame's short description. "You'll be happy to know the Demon Brother's report has came in. They were apprehended by a patrolling team of Konoha Chunin. They managed to escape captivity with minimal casualties, and will continue operations once some of the heat died down." The Mizukage couldn't help but shake his head, wondering if standards in the leaf had slipped so far.

The boys nodded as they waited for Haku to finish her notes.

"Anything unusual to report?" He looked up with a patient smile.

Kisame glanced at Zabuza, who glanced back. The look didn't go unnoticed by Haku, but he waited, trusting the boys to make the proper judgement.

"We will write a full report about it, but we encountered Konoha shinobi during the fight with Juzo."

"More like interrupted the fight. Kakashi Hatake was deadlocked against Biwa before we arrived. It looked like he was caught off guard before we took over." Zabuza interjected as Haku raised a delicate eyebrow, his suspicions confirmed that the boys injuries were from squaddling between the pair, instead of an actual fight. He'd sort it out later. Put that extra energy into something productive like training. The slackers.

"The Copy-cat ninja?" Haku asked for clarification. Zabuza nodded before he continued.

"Yes. Very little info was exchanged. But I have a feeling he was sizing us up. And he may have identified us as Swordsman candidates."

Haku gave a quiet hum at that. It was info that would slip out eventually, but it was something he hoped to hold off as long as possible. The reformation of the Seven could easily be interpreted as militarization for another war, especially by the wrong parties. "We'll keep an ear out then." He said, mostly to himself.

"And there was one more thing." If Zabuza could look sheepish with his stone cold eyes, and concealed face, that would best way to describe him right now. "I," There was a careful emphasis on the word, normally reserved for bad news. "May have identified the Konoha Jinchuriki."

That. That was enough for him to sit up straighter. Zabuza was young, but he was second only to Ao in skill as a sensor, and wouldn't be offering this information if he hadn't checked it from every angle he could think of.

"We considered what little evidence we had and it makes sense. Hatake was accompanied by a group of fresh genin, including an unknown girl, a boy who is most likely the last loyal Uchiha and a blonde child by the name of Naruto."

Kisame was oddly quiet, letting Zabuza talk as Haku quietly tapped his pencil against his desk. "And what evidence do you have for this claim?"

"Very little. He has a passive amount of chakra comparable with high end jonin, and it felt familiar. Like Yagura's. It's a gut feeling, more than anything else."

Haku nodded, mulling the information around in his head. "Excellent work gentleman."

* * *

"They grow up so fast, don't they? I remember when they used to give me these big old smiles after each mission."

"I don't believe it happened like that." Yagura responded as he took the last stack of paper off Haku's desk, sliding them into a waiting file folder. "If anything it was more of pained grimace on the occasion in which they were coerced into grunt work."

"Oh hush. Allow an old man his delusions." Haku waved a dismissive hand.

"I've done so for years so far. I imagine I can hold out for a few more." Yagura chided back, watching Haku sign the last form of the day.

"Patience as a saint, you are."

Yagura could only snort quietly. "I'm going to need it for this next mission."

"The Chunin exams aren't that bad. I'm sure you'll have fun. Now come. Dinner is on me."

"In a figurative or literal sense?"

"Dinner is the former. Dessert is the later." Haku said with a quiet wink.

 **AN:** I made a few changes to the first chapter. Nothing big. Mostly just tossed out the Zabuza as a tailed beast container cause I had a better idea. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and have a good day~


	3. Chapter 3

Fringe benefits was Kisame's phrase of the day.

" ** _You..._** "

Zabuza couldn't have planned it any less perfect in Kisame's mind. _The traitor_. One minute they are walking down the quiet streets of Kiri, both lost in their own thoughts of what to do for the night when Zabuza mutters something about getting a whetstone for his new weapon and disappeared down an alleyway with a casualness that should have set off every alarm bell in his head.

That, should have been more than enough of a warning sign for Kisame. After all, Kisame was just as much a sword nut as his smaller teammate and Zabuza would grudgingly drag his blue-skinned teammate along just for a second opinion.

So to his shame, Kisame was surprised when he found himself staring up at a five foot seven ball of red hair and rage named Mei Terumi with a tanto blade precariously close to his throat.

It was times like this he wished he was a sensor like Zabuza. Having a chakra pool equivalent to a large squad of jonin seemed to pale in sheer usefulness to being able to avoid a scolding whenever it was convenient.

"You.." Mei repeated, venom dripping from her words. Kisame couldn't resist himself. His mouth took over, in far too cheeky a tone.

"Me."

"Where is he?" Mei pressed her blade against Kisame's skin, drawing a thin stream of blood as her hair started to raise from sheer anger alone.

"Gotta be more specific than that. He is a rather general term." He was going to die for this, but Kami be damned if he wasn't going to hell with a smile on his face. Baiting Mei was far too much fun.

"Kisame, dear, you ever want a girlfriend? If so, answer the damn question before I spit a nice ball of toxic sludge in your face to make you look like a blue orange peel for the rest of your wise-cracking life."

"Low blow Mei."

"Then stop acting like an ass and tell me." Mei ignored the pout on the boy's face as she tilted the blade.

"I would love to tell you, but he ditched me a minute before you showed up. Can't imagine why, especially if this was our welcome back party." Kisame snapped his mouth shut as Mei's eyes met his. His survival instincts said it was best not to poke this dragon anymore, lest it decides to bite back.

"Can I get off easy if I plea guilty to whatever we've been accused of?" Kisame offered with an apologetic smile.

"Help me catch him and I'll think about it." Mei said as she sheathed her sword, the murderous look on her face having softened slightly. Now it was only in the eyes, twin orbs of green hellfire as the pair stalked the labyrinth of side streets and alleyways that was Kirigakure for their prey.

 _Good enough._

* * *

"Didn't really think this through. Did you? I thought the point of turning traitor was to get away from punishment." Zabuza growled at Kisame. He probably would have throttled the older boy if he wasn't encased up to his neck in the water prison jutsu by one of Mei's clones. He got duped, and after such a perfect getaway in his own mind.

"Look. I was at sword point. Better to drag you down with me, than go in alone." Kisame shot back from his own liquid entrapment, complete with a matching Mei clone.

The original Mei just stood in front of the boys, glaring at the pair of them as they bickered, fingers twitching to take her sheathed tanto out and silence them both. Permanently. "Are you done?"

"Not like we have any other option... Why are we in trouble anyways?" Kisame grumbled, while Zabuza simply tried to stare Mei down.

" ** _Four_** ** _days._** " Mei spoke up. "You two idiots were gone for four days. You know what I've been doing for the past four days?"

"You think I give a da-." Zabuza would have continued but the water prison rose to encompass his mouth as well, leaving only his eyes free. Eyes that were trying their best to incinerate Mei.

"I'm sorry Zabuza dear, where you saying something?"

If he wasn't trapped, he'd have gagged at the sugary sweet voice Mei used, instead he just kept up his attempts to reduce the red-head to a pile of ash with an intimidating gaze. And to her credit, if Mei was anyone else, she'd have backed down. But knowing Zabuza since he was seven put a severe handicap on his ability to scare her.

 _He's so adorable when he thinks he's being scary- Wait, bad Mei. We are angry at them. Think bad thoughts, such as training with Ao, running, weights, training with Ao, sleeping too long and missing breakfast, not having help combing my hair, having to spend more time than absolutely necessary with Ao._

"While you two were off, messing around-" Kisame moved to defend their actions but he was cut off by a senbon flying past his ear, at which point he promptly decided to wait his turn. "I, was given the opportunity to train with Ao. Exclusively. One on one. For four days. Never mind you left Chojuro behind."

She wasn't expecting anything resembling sympathy from the duo, so the unsaid response of 'Sucks to be you' was left hanging in the air.

"Well?"

The boys kept staring at her, Zabuza obviously waiting for the water to recede, and Kisame to wonder if it was safe enough to speak. With a wave of her hand, the water bubble shifted.

"The mission was high priority. Were we to wait for pear boy and your slow ass?" Zabuza snapped through soaked bandages, as Kisame nodded tentatively.

"Of course. We're a team, the least you could do is act like one." Mei chided, hands on her hips as she let the clones dissipate. The boys landed gracefully, only for the image to be ruined as both of them shook the excess water off themselves like a pair of hounds. "Did you at least succeed?"

"Wouldn't have came back here with our tails between our legs if we failed-" Kisame said, shaking the last of the water from his sandals before he and Zabuza were gathered into Mei's arms, both choking for air as their sensei swung them around in a bear hug.

"Three for three! Congratulations boys, we are almost halfway finished to collecting the lot." Mei flashed a grin at the duo. "Alright! We are grabbing Chojuro and going out for dinner tonight! My treat!"

"Pass." The boys echo'd off each other as they turned around, thinking the scolding was over with. They made it a step each before Mei had them by the collar.

"It was an order, not a suggestion."

* * *

"Thank you sempai."

Kisame waved off Chojuro's thanks as he finished distributing the tuna rolls. "Don't worry bout it." The blue genin always had trouble connecting Chojuro the person with Chojuro the shinobi. Polite to a fault, with glasses that seemed to to mask the majority of his face and cow-print overalls, he looked fresh out of the academy, with an air of naivety to match, he didn't look like anything special. Instead of fledgling Swordsman he was.

"Was sensei's scolding bad?" Kisame shook his head at the question, watching Mei drape herself over Zabuza, already drunk and complaining to the young boy to grow up quicker so she could have a nice, strong husband. If either himself or Chojuro had been forced into the seat beside her, they'd have been the target of her ramblings, but Kisame already felt bad enough for leaving Chojuro out to hang for a few days he decided to spare the kid the embarrassment.

"She forgot about it once we mentioned we succeeded. Dragged us to find you to celebrate, and the rest you know."

Chojuro nodded, taking small bite as he ignored the usual show of Zabuza trying to wrestle himself free from Mei's stronger grasp. "It was good timing on Juzo to show up. Without him, Zabuza-san would be lacking his weapon for our next mission."

"Hm?" Kisame glanced at Chojuro, unaware they had another mission prepared.

"Did Mizukage-sama not tell you during your report?" Chojuro sputtered, unable to meet Kisame's gaze.

"No? Why?"

"We've.. well.. we've been recommended to take part in the next Chunin Exams." The tinge of horror in Chojuro's voice was easily found at his quiet admittance.

"With the three of us?" Chojuro nodded, leaving Kisame to ponder his response as he played with his meal, chop sticks rolling rice across porcelain in a bored pattern. "We'll be fine. Worst comes to worst, Zabuza pisses off the wrong official and we get kicked out on technicalities. Not like the Mizukage would take away our blades for one small lost." Kisame said, patting his younger teammate on the back. "Trust me. We got this."

"If, if you say so." Chojuro agreed hesitantly, going back to his meal.

Kisame for his part had to wonder what Haku was playing at, nothing sinister, probably, but Kisame hated not knowing the motivation behind an order, even if he had to piece it together himself. For now he put it at the back of his mind, a puzzle to be broken down later when Zabuza wasn't being man-handled by a drunken superior.

 **AN:** Sporadic at best, I know. But yes, I'm sending the team of Kisame, Zabuza and Chojuro to the chunin exams for shenanigans. More to come eventually.


End file.
